Crigglestone Mackie Hill Junior and Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Urgently improve teaching in key stages 1 and 2 so that it is consistently good over time by ensuring that: teachers are equipped with strong subject knowledge that will support them in delivering high-quality learning questioning is used well to check on learning so that tasks can be reshaped when pupils have not fully understood the concepts being taught all staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve work set is appropriately challenging for all pupils, but particularly for middle-prior-attaining pupils and the least able additional adults are well directed to have the maximum impact on pupils’ learning.
• Rapidly improve outcomes for all groups of pupils to make sure that they are at least good by: accelerating pupils’ progress and diminishing differences in attainment between all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, and other pupils nationally using assessment information to match learning appropriately to meet the needs of pupils from their different starting points ensuring that pupils have frequent opportunities to develop and deepen their skills in reading and writing in a range of subjects and genres making sure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to develop mathematical reasoning, applying their knowledge independently so they can achieve greater depth in learning.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership at all levels by ensuring that: senior and middle leaders rigorously monitor provision in their areas of responsibility and secure essential improvements in teaching governors hold leaders rigorously to account for pupils’ progress the learning and progress of all pupils are carefully tracked so that those who are at risk of falling behind are identified quickly and given the help they need to achieve well staff consistently apply positive behaviour strategies to support pupils in maintaining consistently good social and learning behaviours support is given to pupils and parents to reduce persistent absence. An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

• Despite maintaining good early years provision since the last inspection, leaders have failed to identify the extent of the weaknesses in the rest of school, so weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment have not been tackled. This has led to a decline in pupils’ progress and attainment over a three-year period.
• Leadership of teaching has not been effective in securing consistently good teaching over time. Middle leaders have been hindered in their attempts to improve the quality of teaching, in part due to frequent staff changes or staff absences.
• The curriculum does not meet the needs and abilities of all pupils, particularly lower-attaining and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have not done enough to ensure that pupil premium funding is spent to enable disadvantaged pupils to achieve well. Leaders plan and deliver an ‘enrichment’ curriculum to help build pupils’ social skills and self-esteem but this has been at the expense of developing pupils’ deeper knowledge in the humanities and the arts.
• Although the leader for special educational needs is informed about the specific needs of pupils, assessment systems are in development and are not fully effective. As a result, teaching is not fine-tuned to ensure that pupils with SEN and/or disabilities make accelerated progress. Funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not consistently spent on those activities that have an effect on pupils’ achievements.
• One third of parents responding to Parent View expressed concern about the school. They were unhappy about the progress their children are making, the way their worries are dealt with, behaviour within school and leadership and management.
• The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. For example, pupils’ books and displays around the school showing studies of aspects of Hinduism and Christianity are helping to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Leaders use primary school physical education (PE) and sports funding effectively to raise standards in the teaching of PE and to increase sporting opportunities. The school employs specialist coaches to work alongside teachers to enhance PE lessons. Pupils enjoy taking part in cheerleading and multi-sports after school.
• Pupils value the opportunity to attend varied extra-curricular activities, including film, art and jigsaw clubs, helping them to develop their social skills.
• The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

Governance of the school

• The chair of the governing body has recently stepped down and been replaced by an experienced chair, who fully recognises that the school is underperforming.
• The local authority has been supporting governors to improve the level of challenge they provide to school leaders. As a result, governors are beginning to ask the searching questions they need to establish the full extent of the school’s weaknesses.
• Governors have not been sufficiently involved in the school’s self-evaluation and have taken much of what the headteacher has told them at face value. They have recently taken a more active role in monitoring the effect of the school’s rapid improvement plan.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff have received appropriate training in safeguarding and designated safeguarding staff are trained to a higher level.
• All safeguarding policies meet the statutory requirements and procedures ensure that pupils are safe. Case files show leaders have taken timely action when they have had concerns about pupils.
• The site is safe and risk assessments for all aspects of the school’s work have been carried out, including for pupils’ use of the fixed outdoor play equipment.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

• Some teachers do not demonstrate well-developed subject knowledge leading to weak teaching over time. In addition, some classes have been taught by several temporary teachers during the last school year. This has prevented pupils from making enough progress in reading, writing and mathematics, particularly in key stage 2.
• Teachers’ expectations of their pupils are not high enough. Some teachers have not taken enough account of what pupils know and can do to ensure that pupils make rapid progress from their starting points. Pupils leaving key stage 1 at broadly average standards are now working at below average standards in each class in key stage 2. Disadvantaged pupils are not supported well enough and make even less progress than other pupils.
• Teachers are not ensuring that disadvantaged pupils and those with low prior attainment are equipped with the skills they need to understand what they are reading. Some pupils said that they do not have enough opportunity to read. This has led to low attainment in reading in both key stages 1 and 2.
• Pupils in key stage 2 are not writing as well as they should because not enough emphasis has been given to developing basic skills. Over time, teachers have not placed enough emphasis on the development of pupils’ writing skills. The quality of pupils’ written work is often compromised by poor grammar, punctuation and spelling and the content is not of a consistently high enough standard.
• Recent improvements to the way mathematics is taught is leading to pupils developing greater fluency in number and calculations. However, teachers have struggled to help pupils to reason mathematically or to develop understanding that enables them to apply learning to a range of problems.
• Some teachers’ questioning is not well developed and their feedback to pupils is having a limited impact on helping pupils to improve their work. In several classes, pupils’ misconceptions are not consistently identified, leaving some pupils struggling to keep up.
• Leaders have recently revised assessment systems because they felt that previous methods were not helping teachers to identify accurately what pupils can do. This has meant that over time, teachers’ planning for learning across the curriculum has not secured sufficient chances for pupils to practise basic skills in English and mathematics, or to develop their understanding of other subjects sufficiently.
• Leaders have ensured that there are enough additional adults in school to support the teaching of classes or groups of pupils. However, teachers do not always ensure that these adults are used to good effect to enable pupils to make the very best progress possible.
• Pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they do not receive regular homework and that reading books are not changed regularly.
• The teaching of phonics is effective and pupils achieve well. This is because of strong practice in the early years that successfully embeds pupils’ recall of letter sounds.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• There is little consistency in the way that teachers encourage pupils’ positive attitudes to learning. As a result, pupils in key stage 2 in particular are less careful about completing their work to the best of their ability. Some pupils spoken to felt that the work they were doing was ‘too easy’.
• Pupils like the school and their teachers. They say that they feel safe in school and know whom to go to get help if they are unhappy. They understand how to keep safe outside school and have learned about risks posed by unsafe use of the internet.
• Pupils can recall a range of assemblies about different faiths and cultures. They could give examples about British values and have a fair understanding of what it means to live in modern Britain.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. While the majority of pupils have positive attitudes to learning, some show less commitment when the pace of learning slows: they lose concentration and drift off task. Teachers do not consistently use the school’s behaviour policy to draw attention to good behaviour or deal quickly enough with low-level disruption.
• For the most part, school is calm and orderly and pupils show respect for others and for adults. A very few pupils have difficulty managing their behaviour and staff have put plans into place to manage this. Pupils say that some bullying occurs, but staff manage this effectively.
• Leaders’ efforts to improve attendance are having a positive impact so that attendance is broadly in line with national averages. However, the persistent absence of a small number of pupils, several taking term-time holidays, is adversely affecting their achievement in school.

Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

Early years provision Good

• Around 60% of children enter the early years with skills and abilities below those typical for their age. Children make good progress through the early years and above-average proportions achieve a good level of development.
• The leader for early years has a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses of the early years provision. She has used this information to maintain a bright and stimulating learning environment. Staff provide many opportunities for children to develop their creative abilities and celebrate children’s work through display.
• Staff meet weekly to discuss the progress of individual children. They have a well-developed understanding of children’s needs and regular assessment is informing an accurate baseline of children’s skills and abilities.
• The teaching of phonics is a particular strength in the early years. Inspectors observed a phonics session, enthusiastically led by the early years leader, where children enjoyed making the shapes and reciting the rhymes that go with each sound. Staff have well-developed subject knowledge that enables them to deliver fast-paced lessons, embedding phonic recall. Consequently, children quickly memorise letter sounds. This has made an important contribution to improvements in the proportion of Year 1 pupils achieving the phonics screening check.
• The leader for early years uses the funding for disadvantaged children to secure the services of a speech therapist. This is helping less-confident children and those who struggle with language to make a good start. Consequently, the difference in attainment between disadvantaged children and others is diminishing, as they get ready to enter Year 1.
• Teaching is effective in supporting children to develop early number skills and to acquire a love of books. For example, a member of staff was observed sharing the story ‘Room on the broom’, accompanied by children chanting parts of the text with great delight.
• Staff have ensured that the early years setting is safe; they take care to ensure that equipment is well maintained and supervised when in use. Staff effectively manage the risks to children and ensure that the statutory welfare requirements are met.
• Staff work well to involve parents and carers in their child’s education. Staff use this information to help children settle quickly into the Nursery and Reception classes.

School details

Unique reference number 108211 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 10037731 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 211 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Hanson Headteacher Maxine Barker Telephone number 01924 303520 Website www.mackiehill.co.uk Email address headteacher@mackiehill.wakefield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 January 2013

Information about this school

• Mackie Hill School is a smaller than average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium is just below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average.
• Almost 90% of pupils are from White British backgrounds. Ten per cent of pupils are from other minority ethnic groups. Seven per cent of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• In 2016, the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics.
• Children in the Reception class attend full time and children in the Nursery attend part-time.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Together with the headteacher, inspectors looked at pupils’ progress information, information about the performance of teachers, documents relating to behaviour and safety and documents relating to safeguarding.
• The inspectors looked at pupils’ work in books and observed pupils’ learning in 15 parts of lessons, some alongside the headteacher and deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors listened to Year 2 and Year 6 pupils read, and observed pupils learning in small groups. They spoke with pupils in lessons, in a meeting, at lunchtime and at playtimes.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders and three members of the governing body. Meetings were also held with two representatives of the local authority.
• The views of 39 parents were taken into account through Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to a small number of parents as they brought their children to school.

Inspection team

Lesley Butcher, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Peter Heaton Ofsted Inspector